I purchased a rod kit from mudhole to build my 1st rod, a couple of questons.
I'm taping down the guides, using the guide layout and the measurements that came with the kit, I end up with my 6th guide directly over the female end of the ferrele on the upper blank,I know it shouldn't go there, but should I move it closer to the tip, or down toward the butt end, which would move the guide onto the lower blank?

Any tips on easier ways to tape little guides down, seems by the time I have them taped, they've slipped around the blanks?
Any reason you can't use blue painters tape in place of masking tape to hold the guides in place?

Thanks for any assistance, I'm sure I'm going to have more questions as I move along.

John

Having a guide on top of the female ferrule will not hurt a thing. You can adjust the spacing so there is about a 1/4' of wrap beyond the tip of the guide foot to wrap towards the opening of the ferrule. I use automotive pin stripe tape to hold the guides in place. I just checked a rod I started before I broke my finger about two weeks ago, and the last guide I taped in place is still there. You will get dozens of ideas on how people prefer to attaché the guides while wrapping. The choice is yours.

Guide may go on female ferrule as Randolph said.

I use the elastic thread in .5mm that beaders use to make children's bracelets. I cut off about 6-8 " and wrap it around guide foot (feet) and secure with two overhand knots. The guide can be adjusted and the rod can even be casted. Also - the thread leaves no residue like tape can do.
Get it in the beading section of any craft store like Michaels and Joeanns
Herb

Guide may go on female ferrule as Randolph said.

I use the elastic thread in .5mm that beaders use to make children's bracelets. I cut off about 6-8 " and wrap it around guide foot (feet) and secure with two overhand knots. The guide can be adjusted and the rod can even be casted. Also - the thread leaves no residue like tape can do.
Get it in the beading section of any craft store like Michaels and Joeanns
Herb

I do as Herb does But get a bag of rubber bands at the Drug Store ( love that name ?? ) I pick the thinnest ones

Bill - willierods.com

Randy,
Sorry to hear about your injury.
I trust that it is healing well and you will be back soon.

Take care

Thank you for the replies, I thought I had read somewhere that guides were not supposed to be wrapped over the female ferrule, obviously mistaken. Well try different ways to hold the guides on temporarily, biggest issue I have right know is getting them taped on and keeping them aligned. Practice, and more practice.
Thanks
John

John

Painter's tape, blue or green varieties, cut to thin strips, will hold guides in position and will leave behind little to no glue residue.

Don't make yourself crazy trying to perfectly tape guides into position. You can gently "wiggle" errant guides just a wee bit for alignment after wrapping.

here is a good idea of the static tests
[anglersresource.net]

Bill - willierods.com

Since you want to put a wrap on the female ferrule anyway, having the guide there works out fine. Moving guides a little either way will not affect performance significantly either.

I have not been able to get the elastic thread to work well on small diameter blanks since for me it's too slippery. I like it for double foot guides on blank diameters of 3/8 in or larger. I like surgical tubing cut into 1/16 in rings for smaller dia blanks. They are "sticky" and hold the guide feet well. Blue painter tape doesn't leave a residue, but it's also not very sticky.

It seems that processes that work for some don't for others, so keep trying all the ideas presented and use the ones that work well for you.

I love it if a guide comes out on the ferrule. That means a little less weight on the whole rod, since I always do a little ferrule wrap for strength and looks.

Any type of tape that can be cut small enough, can be removed relatively easily, and does not leave residue would work fine. There is also a product called Guide Foot Adhesive offered by Flex Coat. It resembles a stick of hot melt glue. It does not allow adjustments like tape or elastic bands do but it works great once you get the hang of it.

eric
fresno, ca.

all the different ways work it is just hard to teach an old dog new tricks & it goes for wrapping rods / guides we learn one way
that works for us, we will never change our ways my 2 CTS

William Sidney
AK

For Micro guides, I think the guide foot adhesive from Flex Coat works the best for keeping them in place when you are ready to wrap.

For spacing and bullseyeing etc small dental rubber bands are nice. The kind they use on braces. But you can't test cast with them.

I would also be ok with using them to hold a little bigger guides in place prior to wrapping.

In the beginning we often over-complicate things.
If you received a guide layout from Mud-Hole, it's doubtful you will improve on it by playing around.
On the other hand, you are free to try.
To hold guides for wrapping I use Flex Coat's guide glue.
If you need it now and are not close to a rod building store, ask for Low-Temperature hot melt glue in any craft store.
You have to heat both the glue and the guide foot. I use a Bic, to spare my fingers, I hold micro guides with a small alligator clip.
You might find one in a radio type store.
Adjusting the guides after wrapping is no problem. The low temp glue snaps loose.
That said, if I wanted to flex test and try some casts, something like masking tape might be my first choice.

Another vote for elastic thread.

You can cut small pieces of tape place them on a table edge or some whare you can get them off of Grab the guide so it does not move Roll the tape off the foot and grab the tape and tape it
And so many spend all that money for College

Bill - willierods.com

Always feel free to ask. There are so many options with the details.

eric
fresno, ca.

Appreciate all the responses, will give several of these a try and see what works best for me, I do have a couple more questions,

Those that use rubber bands or the dental bands, do you use these to hold the guide on while your wrap, or just when setting it up, if you use it while you wrap, do you cut the bands of, would think that trying to roll them over a partial wrap would really screw things up,

Most of the issue I had with taping guides on was with the small guides toward the front, biggest issue is moslty fat fingering them,

Will get a chance to start wrapping this w/e so will see how it goes, if nothing else it will be a learning experience.

John, yes you have to cut the bands off. Wrap halfway up the guide foot, until it is anchored in place then cut the band. I prefer the green pin stripe tape, it can just be lifted off and used again for the next guide. I only tape one guide on at a time. The pin stripe tape is available in both 1/4 & 1/8" rolls. I mount an old reel foot in the reel seat and put a line level on it to perfectly align the first guide from the reel seat. I visually align all the other guides from this one. The level just rests in the frame where it attaches to the reel. Has worked well for me for over 40 years.